A Spiritual Reflection
 
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Spiritual Reflection
 
It’s been a week since learned about the diagnosis of Dorothy Jean Holley. The call came one afternoon informing us that she was having emergency colon surgery for metastatic cancer. Dorothy Jean attended the Basic Preparation Parish Nurse class in 2006. Many of us remember her for her beautiful poem written about the ministry of parish nursing. I visited Dorothy while in the hospital at OUHSC. She was sitting in a chair connected to an array of tubes... the kind that always follow colon resections. She was so pleased to see me and shared quite generously her recent ordeal. Several comments she made has stayed with me even entering into my own prayerful moments. Dorothy “intuitively knew” something was wrong in her body when she attended the class, which she refers to as her “spiritual retreat.” Dorothy recalled, “I never mentioned that I would be undergoing tests when I finished because I didn’t want my story to interfere with the flow of the formation days. But I did have a sense that I might never use my training in a faith community but rather needed that reflective time for my own journey. I truly believe the peace I feel at this time is directly connected with that week. My faith in God, even living with the prognosis that I might have less than a year to live, is so strong. I appreciate all the nurses who were with me during that period.” Listening to Dorothy Jean’s story has left me pondering the gifts of parish nursing. As I rapidly approach 10 years in this ministry I am convinced that being an instrument of healing for others mandates we become attentive to our own need to be healed. When we allow our need for healing to be addressed, we become a gift for the other. The leadership of our parish nursing network in Oklahoma estimate that a considerable percentage (maybe 40%) are not currently practicing in the area of parish nursing... much like Dorothy Jean; but I can’t help wonder all the healing that occurs as a result of the “retreat week” and yes, even outside the formal ministry of parish nursing. I wonder how many nurses have been empowered to reenter the workplace with a new perspective; how many nurses have been graced to enter a full-time ministry for their families; how many nurses have been uplifted as they live with their own physical illness or diminishment. And so I ponder all the healing that perhaps occurs within us just as a result of that “week together” in prayer and study and community- building. Perhaps it took Dorothy Jean’s story to reawaken within me what I know is true... We become healers when we allow ourselves to be healed. I know all of you join me in lifting Dorothy Jean in our prayers. May her journey this year be a healing for her and for us. For those who would like to contact Dorothy Jean she may be reached at 580-226-3488.